The Dominion and the Union: An Alternate North America

[GoshDiggityDangit]

Hello all! I am once again attempting to write a timeline. My previous attempt, "Even If You Stand Alone", became difficult to follow for myself, and had no background structure to it. For this timeline, which is a direct reboot of said previous timeline, I have worked on a Google Document to structure the events that occur so that I can more easily write the timeline. There are some things I am not happy with (which I will mention when those aspects become relevant and obvious), but overall the product is generally going well.

The premise of both timelines is the same, and because of this, I will copy-paste the premise from the old one. Essentially, the premise is that the American Revolutionary war turns out very differently. In OTL, loyalists in the 13 colonies fled to the north. This had the consequence that Quebec and other territories there didn't rebel. It also partially led to the eventual failure of the southern theatre of the Revolutionary war, as the British military planned on relying on loyalist assistance in the later periods of the war. In TTL, the loyalists from the New England, Middle, and Chesapeake colonies fled instead to the South. I reason this because the Southern colonies already had a larger population of loyalists, which is evident in their dialect (which is the closest modern American English dialect to that spoken by the British of the time).

I am still working on the Google doc, but I have reached the mid-1800s, so I feel it is a good enough time to begin posting. For each post, I will cover the important events that happen during the presidency of a President of the United States. This is one problem I would like to address immediately: This timeline is extremely US-focused. I will try to broaden the horizons to sister nations and perhaps European countries as well, but so far I have only worked on the US. This is for a number of reasons, foremost because I don't really know what to do for the timelines of other countries. I hope that, while I post, I can get some ideas through writing. I hope that you will enjoy reading my timeline!

 

[sampleswift]

Hmm. This concept of the Patriots being unable to secure the southern states sounds vaguely similar to my own project. I can help if needed. I look forward to seeing what you have (My project is down in my signature).

 

[Deleted member 147978]

Hello all! I am once again attempting to write a timeline. My previous attempt, "Even If You Stand Alone", became difficult to follow for myself, and had no background structure to it. For this timeline, which is a direct reboot of said previous timeline, I have worked on a Google Document to structure the events that occur so that I can more easily write the timeline. There are some things I am not happy with (which I will mention when those aspects become relevant and obvious), but overall the product is generally going well.
The premise of both timelines is the same, and because of this, I will copy-paste the premise from the old one. Essentially, the premise is that the American Revolutionary war turns out very differently. In OTL, loyalists in the 13 colonies fled to the north. This had the consequence that Quebec and other territories there didn't rebel. It also partially led to the eventual failure of the southern theatre of the Revolutionary war, as the British military planned on relying on loyalist assistance in the later periods of the war. In TTL, the loyalists from the New England, Middle, and Chesapeake colonies fled instead to the South. I reason this because the Southern colonies already had a larger population of loyalists, which is evident in their dialect (which is the closest modern American English dialect to that spoken by the British of the time).
I am still working on the Google doc, but I have reached the mid-1800s, so I feel it is a good enough time to begin posting. For each post, I will cover the important events that happen during the presidency of a President of the United States. This is one problem I would like to address immediately: This timeline is extremely US-focused. I will try to broaden the horizons to sister nations and perhaps European countries as well, but so far I have only worked on the US. This is for a number of reasons, foremost because I don't really know what to do for the timelines of other countries. I hope that, while I post, I can get some ideas through writing. I hope that you will enjoy reading my timeline!

Godspeed on your Southern Dominion TL then, I'll be watching with great interest.

 

[GoshDiggityDangit]

Chapter 1: The American Revolution

In the years following the Seven Year's War, British America was in many ways prospering. The Caribbean Islands, recently conquered from the Spanish, provided great wealth to the Empire with their sugar industry. The continental colonies expanded greatly with the acquisition of eastern New France. Not everything was easy, however. The Quebecers, Francophones of the new territories, were not content with British control. Small uprisings began in big cities like Montreal and Quebec. There was a simple solution. The Quebecois were slowly but surely removed from British America, either to New Spain or to France proper. In turn, the newly uninhabited lands were resettled by New Englanders. By 1775, ~40% of the French had been expelled.

There was another, perhaps unavoidable problem. Even with the Caribbean sugar industry, the British needed money to pay off the war. Where else to get the money but the colonies which started the whole thing? Thusly, a number of taxes were implemented in the years following, such as the Sugar Act of 1764, and the Stamp Act of 1765. The colonists of North America were notably unhappy with the increased taxation. So notably were the colonists unhappy that, when it became obvious that they would get no control over their taxation, they declared independence and went to war. In 1776, the United States of America was established, a coalition of the 13 colonies of British America.

Two years after the American Revolution began, Nova Scotia, another British colony north of Massachusetts, officially joined in arms with the Americans. A number of Nova Scotians had previously served in the Continental Army, but following the implementation of similar laws to the "Intolerable" Acts that the 13 colonies had endured, the vast majority of Nova Scotians decided to rise up against the British. Throughout the whole revolution and before, the Quebecois to the north were still in rebellion against the British. Pro-Patriot New Englanders, who had been resettling the region, had quietly been supporting the revolution with the Nova Scotians. In 1780, Quebec came into open rebellion with the 13 colonies. While wishing to be independent at some point, they acknowledged that they couldn't stand alone as a nation with their sparsely populated lands, and so agreed to join the new nation of the United States.

Near the same time that Quebec joined the revolution, a great blow was dealt to the Americans. Throughout the entire war, colonists loyal to the British Empire migrated south. The colonies of the Carolinas, and Georgia were already more supportive of the British, so it was only obvious to move south. When the British called upon these loyalists to come up in arms to support the Empire, they answered in great numbers. The Patriot forces in the south were crushed, and the British were only barely halted at the border of Virginia. The southern theatre of the American Revolution was lost in 1782. By the time that the south returned to Britain, however, the war itself was untenable for the British. Their forces would be stretched too thin if they were to try to reenforce the northern front, and the war was long and becoming unpopular in the homeland. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed between the newly, officially independent United States and the British. The British had to recognize the independence of the new nation, and the United States had to accept that the south was British for good.

A map of North America after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, 1783.

 

[NedStark]

Great, but I would argue that Virginia is unlikely to side with the British, though.

 

[GoshDiggityDangit]

Chapter 2: The New Nation

The years after the revolution were turbulent. The original document written to unite the states, the Articles of Confederacy, was inadequate for keeping the nation together. A main issue was that the federal government outlined in the documents could not enforce taxes, and therefore government-based services such as the Continental Army couldn't be paid. Individual states also violated the articles, despite protest from officials. Shay's Rebellion of 1787 proved the ineffectiveness of the government when Congress could not support the military in defending the state of Massachusetts. It was determined quickly that a new document must be written to maintain the union.

In 1787, the new Constitution of the United States began being drafted. It outlined the powers of the federal government, and the rights of American citizens. The Constitution structured the Congress as a single body, states being given a number of votes and representatives based on population. It abolished slavery in the states, and ensured the freedom of movement between states. It ensured freedom of religion, a policy which concerned the Catholic population of Quebec greatly, as they believed they might be forced to convert to Protestantism.

The Ratification of the Constitution took place on June 21st, 1788. It was quickly followed by the first Presidential election of the United States. The president would serve a 4 year term, with the runner-up of the election becoming the vice-president. The Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, George Washington, was unanimously elected president in April of 1789. His vice-president would be John Adams. His first year of presidency would see the establishment of the Supreme Court and the ratification of the Bill of Rights.

He would be elected again in 1792, though he originally planned to retire at the time. He would sign the Proclamation of Neutrality in regards to the French Revolution, though most of the government privately supported the French Republic. During his second term, the Amity Treaty between the United States and Great Britain would be signed. It ironed out some of the remaining disputes, and began trade with the British again. Another, similar treaty was to be put into effect near the same time with the French Republic, but it was shot down by the Federalist government. George Washington would give his last speech in September of 1796. He warned against a large military, and was wary of permanent foreign allegiances. His presidency would be the first of three times that the Federalists had a president in office.

 

[theflyingmongoose]

This is excellent.

 

[Walter Rodney Kinghorn]

Watched, interesting indeed.

 

[Gogomonow]

I think that ittl the federalist party would remain a party because it was much bigger in the north iotl.

 

[Glory2Cabinda]

I feel like this Dominion will come to blows with Britain over slavery

 

[PGSBHurricane]

Very good effort so far.

 

[Jonathan1997]

I have got to wonder what about southern slavery the United Kingdom during the time of King George the third of England was moving away from the slave trade it would be completely be ended by the 1830s.

I also wonder will the southern states be represented in Parliament the British government handled its colonies very differently than France. The British started laying the foundation of the dismantling of the British Empire after the American Revolution due to the project empire been on tenable. I believe it started with Edmund Burke and Adam Smith commenting on the issue. Alternatively I could see the the white majority being connected in a federalist union between Southern America, Great Britain and Australia but with out the southern United States the union would be untenable. I believe that the British Empire also ended because of the separation of the trading markets with Canada, Australia and other colonies there was no longer any benefit in the British Empire and with out India the Empire was finished even though the Empire end is dated in 1997.

 

[GoshDiggityDangit]

I think that ittl the federalist party would remain a party because it was much bigger in the north iotl.

My main reasoning for speeding-up the decline of the Federalists is that the Quebecois would be generally supportive of the French Republic, and would be able to influence presidential election in favor of the Democratic-Republicans. Though, now that I think about it, Nova Scotia might be a great supporter of the Federalists.

 

[NedStark]

My main reasoning for speeding-up the decline of the Federalists is that the Quebecois would be generally supportive of the French Republic, and would be able to influence presidential election in favor of the Democratic-Republicans. Though, now that I think about it, Nova Scotia might be a great supporter of the Federalists.

Well, 70% of the Quebecois had been removed ITTL, and the rest of the population were Anglo Protestants.

However, due to their elitist views, the Federalists would gradually decline like IOTL. Meanwhile, with the Southern wing being weaker ITTL, the Democratic-Republicans would have adopted various Federalist policies such as internal improvements earlier.

 

[GoshDiggityDangit]

At the turn of the century, US politics were split between two parties. The Federalists, the party of Washington, were popular in their home of New England, and south to New Jersey. They prioritized improved relations with Great Britain and were largely against the French Revolution. They sought to strengthen the United States federal government and establish centralized services such as a central bank.

Their opponents, the Democratic-Republicans, were their near-opposites. They were most popular in their home states of Virginia and Kentucky and were fairly popular in Maryland and Quebec. They were strong supporters of the French Revolution, and unlike the Federalists, sought a small central government.

In 1796, the election to find the second president was up to these two parties. The Federalist candidate, John Adams, had served previously as George Washington’s vice president. He was widely popular in the party. His running mate was John Jay, the governor of New York. The Democratic-Republican candidate, Thomas Jefferson, was a co-founder of the party. Interestingly, the two were close friends.

The election was close, but John Adams won by a slim margin. The election laws at the time made Jefferson, his presidential opponent, his vice-president. Adam’s first term was largely uneventful, seeing the completion of the Federal Mansion and the establishment of the Library of Congress. By the end of his first term, he was still widely popular amongst the Federalists.

The 4th election of the US arrived in 1800. In his first term, John Adams had witnessed a small war scare throughout the nation. The Federalist administration of Washington, none too partial with France, had decided to stop repaying them for their assistance in the revolution. At the same time, the Amity Treaty was seen as further treachery directly in conflict with previous treaties between France and the US.

Understandably disgruntled, French privateers began capturing American ships off the east coast in late 1798. While this shake-up was settled only a few months later, the effect it had on the American attitude was palpable. In government, moves were made to restart paying the debt to the French. Amongst the people, the Federalists

were seen as incompetent and elitist, and the France debacle made the party even more unpopular. Many Americans, especially the remaining Quebecois, still strongly supported the French Republic. This decline in public support made the Democratic-Republicans a much greater threat.

Coming to the election, tensions were higher than ever before. A change in the election process remedied the issue of opposing politicians becoming president and vice-president together, and the parties made nomination tickets of their own presidential and vice-presidential nominees. The Federalists reran the Adams-Jay duo of the last election. The Democratic-Republicans also reran Thomas Jefferson with their vice-presidential nominee Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, a prominent member of the party.

The political battle between candidates was brutal, and the election would become one of the closest in US history. In the end, the election was only barely won for Adams by two states, Pennsylvania and Maryland. An interesting case was that of New York. The Republicans had gained a significant foothold in the state, and so it was split for the election. While it would remain a Federalist state in this election, in following elections it would prove a stronghold for the Democratic-Republicans.

While Adams had won the election, the Federalist house of his previous term would not be following him into the next. Stymied by a Democratic-Republican house, his domestic policies were slowed. Not only that, very quickly after being elected the US would be embroiled in another war with far-off Tripoli. The Barbary states had been a thorn in the US’ side for years at that point, but nonetheless it was another political challenge for Adams to overcome.

Even with these challenges, Adam’s greatest achievement would come not too long into his second term. In years previous, Napoleon Bonaparte of France had secretly retaken Louisiana from the Spanish. This was in an attempt to rebuild the French colonial empire in north America. However, when it became obvious that keeping the territory was financially untenable, he considered selling it to the US. Understanding the importance of a Caribbean port and control of the Mississippi, Adams jumped at the opportunity.

The negotiations went over smoothly between the US and France, and the purchase was made in April, 1803. The British viewed this as a great threat to their dominance in the Caribbean, but the consequences of this would wait for a few years. In the meantime, Adams’ presidency came to an end. He would be remembered as a great president, overcoming political hurdles and leaving the US a wealthy, continent-spanning nation.

A map of North America, 1804.

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

Interesting. I like the change of Florida and Cuba being in the British Dominion. It makes sense with more loyalists down south there are just enough troops to flip a couple of battles, and Spain joined pretty late anyway.

Why do I see Andrew Jackson as a fire-eater and leading what someone else said would be a rebellion concerning slavery?

Then again, the cotton gin might not be invented for a few more years. It was an invention which was likely to come soon enough, but delaying in a few years could mean that the abolition of slavery continues at the usual pace in Britain wear as having the South might have slowed it otherwise. (Eli Whitney moved to South Carolina from the north, he is very unlikely to do this here in this timeline.)

I like how you have John Jay as John Adams running mate. Without the South he would be more popular as the treaty with Britain wouldn't be as unpopular. Plus I see that the United States has all of the Great Lakes anyway, so the forts are one less thing that people can complain about the British not keeping their end of the deal in 1783.

I wonder if John Jay will follow John Adams and help to put an end to slavery some sort of gradual abolition plan. The most radical Southern slave owners may already be considering moving to the Dominion because at least they can own slaves there. They'd feel pressure here knowing their days are numbered.

 

[theflyingmongoose]

Nice work.

 

[HonestAbe1809]

Where is the United States capital? And are they planning on building TTL's DC somewhere else?

 

[GoshDiggityDangit]

Where is the United States capital? And are they planning on building TTL's DC somewhere else?

I never thought the detail relevant, but since you asked: The capital of TTL United States is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

[DTF955Baseballfan]

It makes sense they would keep it in Philadelphia. It would probably be seen as a bit too close to the British if they moved it where Washington had suggest. Plus even in our timeline it wasn't ready till after Washington retired anyway.

They probably eventually build separate buildings for Congress and Supreme Court. I wonder if Philadelphia not only is larger in this timeline but ends up with some suburbs and next across the river in New Jersey.

Nice to see the United States got all of the Louisiana Purchase. The territory well no doubt be free in this timeline, I wonder if the United States and Britain have part of the a possible War being over the United States not returning British slaves who escaped.